It was many years ago, in the tender years of my misspent teenage youth that I joined some friends for a midnight viewing of the Wizard of Oz. No, there was no Pink Floyd involved. It was just the plain old Wizard of Oz, as I'd seen it in my childhood dozens, if not hundreds of times. Perhaps, being the callow and wanton youth we were, all this may have been under the influence of certain controlled substances. Though I don't recall that clearly, I do recall sitting in that theater watching the film unfold yet again.
However, this time, as the munchkins and witches and so forth all went about their well rehearsed business in the foreground, somehow my attention was riveted on the background. These cheesy painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains had me transfixed. I couldn't help wondering, yes, yes, I know all about the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and all that. But what the heck is on the other side of those mountains?
Herein lies the central inspiration of that phenomenon known as fanfiction. It is the art of providing one's own spin on the unexplored corners of a world created by another, mainstream art form. This is in fact a very time honored practice, but it was only in the 1960s that it become something of a popular culture craze. Little fanfiction cottage industries arose to explore the unexplored possibilities in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. Here the fans could explore in their own fiction the possibilities that the original show couldn't or wouldn't: Klingons could conquer the universe or Kirk and Spock could have a torrid homosexual love affair. This was indeed boldly going where no staff writer was about to go.
Initially the fiction was circulated in fanzines. These were mimeographed and collated collections posted out to subscribers composed of enthusiasts, aficionados and conference attendees. In the age of the Internet, and the World Wide Web, the 1990s brought a whole new dimension to fanfiction. There has been a major growth in the availability of video materials from the original shows that the aspiring fan creator can now draw upon, edit and reframe in various ways, to tell their own story. And this can be done in the quiet of your own room, late at night, with nothing more than a laptop and a ham sandwich. This was yet another path to get over the top of those distant mountains.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
When looking for the common themes in The Walking Dead fanfiction, the ones that immediately come to one's attention are a focus upon fleshing out the bios and psyches of various characters. Daryl and Andrea are particularly popular objects of such exploration. There's also those who are more focused on getting beyond the distant mountains. They invent their own characters or sometimes clearly place themselves in the world of The Walking Dead, exploring the other possibilities of that world -- far from the goings on of Rick Grimes and co. Some fanfiction creators even ponder the possibility that the zombies may have internal thoughts. What could those be like. Turn to the fanfiction if you want some idea.
This fanfiction is a great venue for getting deeper still into the exotic world of The Walking Dead. The creativity of the fan creators suggests all kinds of new possibilities and venues of curious pursuit. To say nothing of being loads of fun. A question does come to mind though when we're considering the fascination with this TV show.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
However, this time, as the munchkins and witches and so forth all went about their well rehearsed business in the foreground, somehow my attention was riveted on the background. These cheesy painted studio backgrounds of distant mountains had me transfixed. I couldn't help wondering, yes, yes, I know all about the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City and all that. But what the heck is on the other side of those mountains?
Herein lies the central inspiration of that phenomenon known as fanfiction. It is the art of providing one's own spin on the unexplored corners of a world created by another, mainstream art form. This is in fact a very time honored practice, but it was only in the 1960s that it become something of a popular culture craze. Little fanfiction cottage industries arose to explore the unexplored possibilities in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek. Here the fans could explore in their own fiction the possibilities that the original show couldn't or wouldn't: Klingons could conquer the universe or Kirk and Spock could have a torrid homosexual love affair. This was indeed boldly going where no staff writer was about to go.
Initially the fiction was circulated in fanzines. These were mimeographed and collated collections posted out to subscribers composed of enthusiasts, aficionados and conference attendees. In the age of the Internet, and the World Wide Web, the 1990s brought a whole new dimension to fanfiction. There has been a major growth in the availability of video materials from the original shows that the aspiring fan creator can now draw upon, edit and reframe in various ways, to tell their own story. And this can be done in the quiet of your own room, late at night, with nothing more than a laptop and a ham sandwich. This was yet another path to get over the top of those distant mountains.
In any original show, like The Walking Dead, there are always doors not entered, streets not followed, choices not made and thoughts not expressed. The original story follows only one narrative thread; in the process it inevitably opens the possibility of countless others. The writers of fanfiction are the explorers of these tantalizing possibilities which the original story tellers have left dangling. And this is a pretty thriving undertaking in the case of The Walking Dead. The single site Fanfiction.net alone has over 2000 fanfictions stories inspired by The Walking Dead. And that is very much just scraping the surface of what is available.
When looking for the common themes in The Walking Dead fanfiction, the ones that immediately come to one's attention are a focus upon fleshing out the bios and psyches of various characters. Daryl and Andrea are particularly popular objects of such exploration. There's also those who are more focused on getting beyond the distant mountains. They invent their own characters or sometimes clearly place themselves in the world of The Walking Dead, exploring the other possibilities of that world -- far from the goings on of Rick Grimes and co. Some fanfiction creators even ponder the possibility that the zombies may have internal thoughts. What could those be like. Turn to the fanfiction if you want some idea.
This fanfiction is a great venue for getting deeper still into the exotic world of The Walking Dead. The creativity of the fan creators suggests all kinds of new possibilities and venues of curious pursuit. To say nothing of being loads of fun. A question does come to mind though when we're considering the fascination with this TV show.
Does it say something about our world in a way that resonates, even if we don't realize it? Check out our thoughts on that at Pretty Much Dead Already
About the Author:
Mickey Jhonny is lead writer at The Walking Dead celebration site Pretty Much Dead Already. See his quirky first installment on the Walking Dead actors .
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